filipino manners (or the lack of)

Bob is a very smart fellow but he had the often held opinion that foreigners with money in Philippines could play God, and he often did. But Karma got him and his wife kicked him out and he has since been down on his luck, I hear. I bear him no ill will but I can tell you stories . .

 

After a story like that, did his 'old lady' ever approach you?

 

No, and she ended up with a filipino live in partner, but to continue with the story, Bob was pretty infamous for kicking people out of his compound for silly reasons. Bob had a good friend named Bill who lived in the compound. When Bob's wife accused him of carousing with young girls, old Bob told her that was all Bill's doing. Right after that he told Bill: "My wife says you gotta move out. She wanted you to move out today but I convinced her to give you two days. Sorry old buddy but its all them young ladies you've got coming over that's got her back up. Nothing I can do." To hear Bill tell it, he had already bailed Bob out of trouble countless times so they weren't friends any more.

It would not surprise me to find there were people on this forum who know Bob (Robert) but as he is reputed to be back in the US with a serious illness I won't say anything bad about him, its just funny stuff from the past.

 

Wonder if that same excuse would fly cheating on your wife, sex with 14/15/16 year old girls, paying 10k peso's to snuff out an annoying neighbor or person around you, or destroying an apartment/house you were renting before you move out knowing you wouldn't be getting your deposit back anyway.

Us foreigners often get that line thrown at us but it never really applies the same to us as it does to locals.

I'll say there are a number of sh*t foreigners as well with no respect for others also, half of them came that way while the other half just adapted to the Filipino way I think. But I wonder how well the landlord would have been if the guy hadn't said anything and when time for rent rolled around said "sorry, no qwarta. Due to the obsessively loud videoke from your tenant/my neighbor keeping me up all night I haven't been able to work online so haven't gotten paid. Credit it"

 

I recently got invited to my wife's cousins house warming, but had a raging toothache. She is a generous and hardworking good girl and so I made the effort to attend. Also, she had brought a lot of appliances from the UK, so needed the plugs changing. I volunteered, as she said nobody knew how to do them. As I started to do this complicated task, someone turned on the Karaoke to full volume and started to make a sound as if his balls were being cut off. I immediately said WTF, whereupon my wife got up and told them to turn it off. I was surprised and quickly completed my task and proceeded to get rid of my toothache by drinking copious amounts of beer. As I left everyone was smiling and waving, but I guess that were thinking arsehole and were glad to get rid of me, so the could get back to singing "The green green grass of home".

 

hate it when people rudely leave their phones to ring loudly during a cinema, take a call without stepping away, or do something on their smartphone/phablet distracting due to its bright illumination.

had someone annoy me in every way possible at robinson's last time i saw a movie there... he was so clueless i actually chided him with a barrage of taunts. dude was german fellow and i'm betting he must've thought i was one rude flip

 

Was in the theater in Tagbilaran, Bohol last week watching a movie. Young pinoy with a super-bright smartphone seated several rows and seats away---took a call, was yammering away and the usher came up and took him outside---then brought his packages to him and told him to leave. Good on the theater for making a movie there a pleasant experience for all.

 

Sorry you had to vent, OP. I haven't been to the cinemas in a while.

Could you have generalized the populace by a single incident? How many times have you been to the movies and how many times have you encountered such a behavior? A single bad apple doesn't make the whole lot bad. Granted manners in Asia are different (and coarser) than developed nations - you have to give them some leeway.

On the CR knock - for all you know, the guy didn't see you get in 30 seconds ago and he was politely trying to find out if it was occupied or was unintentionally locked -- he apologized after all. Isn't an apology a good manner - you might have been too infuriated to recognize it. In developed countries, this couldn't have occurred - public restrooms are huge and made up of stalls with 2-inch gaps around the stall doors and 2 feet off the floor -- so folks just have to peek in to see if it's occupied or not -- thereby not pissing off someone by knocking .

I understand, once you've blown a gasket (cinema) - it wouldn't take much of an effort to blow another one (CR) in succession .. but it wouldn't do well with the blood pressure either.

Seen from afar and by a lurker/3rd party -- I can say this: It was a clash of cultures. OP being of refined manners from a first world country among a huge number of folks in a third world city with manners unsuitable for cultured folks of developed countries.

"Gold is rare and an expensive metal on earth. If the mars was made of gold, it would be the least expensive item to the martians" - meh :D

Live and let live. I am just trying to lighten the mood here - please don't take this against me ... cheers!!

 

I heard there was going to be a legislation on how late karaoke bars/singing is to be allowed .. ugh, I wish it'd be enforced and soon.

 

Karaoke is part of culture here, you don't like it ? Not your country lol